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Pelargonium: A Field Guide. Pelargonium, a flowering plant from South Africa, gets confused with geranium because its ivy-shaped leaves are similar.
Please don’t call them “geraniums.” We have to get past that.
Pelargonium, a warm-weather flowering plant from South Africa, gets confused with its cousin because its ivy-shaped leaves are similar. But Pelargonium, with as many as 300 species, plays more roles: as shrub, scented herb, container plant, and cheerful window box companion. Varieties with fragrant leaves perfume the air with lemon, mint, rose, and coconut; plant them where passersby will brush against them.
If it’s hardy geraniums you’re looking for, see Gardening 101: Geraniums.
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